PLAYOFF FEVER IN TORONTO, OR IS IT TOO EARLY?
Pretty much to a man (and especially young man) the players in the Leafs dressing room believe they are in the early stages of something special.
They know they’re exciting to watch and with home-ice wins piling up, they’re starting to feel it.
Most believe the future is bright, though they’re wise enough to recognize that there’s plenty left to do in the rebuild. Just don’t mention that term.
On pace for 92 points, the Leafs (8-6-3) are just a couple of wins away from being prominent in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. And with the quarterpole of the season arriving next week, it’s starting to become a viable sample size.
The defence may be a work in progress, though we’ve seen some improvements of late. But the confidence is certainly catching, from coach Mike Babcock on down.
“We approach every practice and every game like we’re one of those teams,” Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly said of being a playoff contender. “We believe that we can play with anybody.
“As players, we have been really impressed with what the young guys have been able to do and when you add pieces that we have, I think it has maybe bumped (the rebuild) up a little bit.”
Who can blame Rielly, who is still awaiting his first NHL playoff game, for being excited at what he sees? And why would you want to douse that with cold water now, especially with the nightly thrills provided by players such as Mitch Marner and most recently, Connor Brown?
In their latest win, the Leafs beat a Florida Panthers team that piled up 103 points last season. Granted they did so with a roster riddled with injuries and against a goalie, former Leaf James Reimer, who had one of the worst outings out of his career.
But that’s back-to-back games with six goals, when you factor in Tuesday’s 6-2 win over Nashville, another playoff team from last season.
It certainly has the Leafs confident heading into a big Saturday night challenge in Montreal, where the Leafs will look to improve their miserable 1-4-3 road record. With the Habs playing in Carolina on Friday and the Leafs in town resting, Babcock made sure his team will be extra rested by scrapping practice, a nice reward for Thursday’s effort. Babcock, by the way, is a disciple of his former boss, Detroit GM Ken Holland, whose philosophy is that you need to be in the post-season race by U.S. Thanksgiving.
The Leafs have games vs. the Habs, Hurricanes and Devils before that date.
“Well, let’s just get better tomorrow and focus on doing that,” Babcock said as a caveat on post-season talk. “We’d like to be in a playoff race after 20 games … so that’s what you’re trying to do. We have four games left in the segment before American Thanksgiving and that’s usually a telltale sign.”
Playoff talk in Toronto after a couple of big wins generally causes eye-rolling around the league, but the Leafs have won two in a row and six of their past eight now. And with scoring threats on three lines, they are a serious threat most nights.
“You see teams that win, they have lots of lines that can score,” said rookie Brown, who showed what he can contribute with a two-goal, two-assist night in Thursday’s 6-1 win.
“You get a top line and sometimes if they get one a night, that might not do it for you. You’ve got to have three or four lines that can score.
“We’ve got a lot of weapons in that regard. We’ve got to keep getting better defensively, but we’ve proven we can score.”
Though not as flashy as fellow rookie Marner, Thursday’s effort was a showcase night for Brown. His four-point night was a big breakthrough and the latest testament to the hard work he has put in since being selected in the sixth round (156th overall) of the 2012 draft.
If Marner is the highlight machine, Brown is a player who has earned his place by working hard all over the ice, whether it’s scoring, back checking or blocking shots. “Once we learn where to be and when and it becomes second nature to be there, we’ll even take another step forward.”
And then we can really start talking playoffs.